The Grindr culture: 37 new cases of HIV/AIDS among gay men in Malta this year alone

Newly released statistics how that there have been 50 new cases of HIV registered this year and one new case of full-blown AIDS, and that 37 of these are the result of men having sex with other men.

The highest number of cases used to be registered among heterosexuals, while cases among gay men were low and even nought in 2007. But now it seems that heterosexual people have learned their lesson but the Grindr culture of anonymous hook-ups has taken its toll on gay men in Malta.

A senior doctor at the state general hospital told me after these statistics were released:

“HIV in MSM (men having sex with men) is a growing public health threat in Malta. My colleagues and I believe that this figures will continue to rise exponentially year on year. People in Malta still associate HIV with sub-Saharan immigrants, but while this was true some years back, men having sex with men is now the dominant route of transmission in Malta.

The island is now also being promoted as a gay tourist destination. There is a strong lobby asking for pre-exposure prophylaxis to be made available on the national health service. This would cost around €20 per tablet, which I believe is something that people should pay for themselves, given that the only reason they want it is to be able to have irresponsible unprotected sex with strangers.

That is their choice, and it is wrong to expect the taxpayer to fund those personal choices. The government looks like it is going to cave in on this too – payback time for the gay men who rooted for Joseph Muscat. Meanwhile, people suffering from cancer have to beg for charity to pay for their treatment, while the Community Chest Fund advertises that it is raising money to pay for ‘cancer medicine’.”